Pages

___________

Today the U.S. Armed Forces will formally acknowledge the repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law that prohibited gay and lesbian men and women from openly serving in the military.

In the seventeen years that I served in the Armed Forces, my shipmates were straight and gay. With few exceptions, everyone "knew" who the gay service members were. We shared berthing compartments with them, we shared meals, we shared showers. Believe me - we knew. And with the exception of a small, self-righteous minority, no one gave a good goddamn. The gender of your sexual partner wasn't really the issue, but whether or not you were a good Radioman, a good Signalman, a good Hospital Corpsman, a good Damage Controlman, a good Photographer's Mate, a good sailor. It makes me proud that the organization where I spent so many years is finally catching up with its members and acknowledging that sexual orientation simply doesn't matter in this context.

Sea change is never, never easy. One of my children is a member of the United States Navy. The other is a lesbian. They will both be affected by this change, for good or for ill, and I can only hope that the example of Admiral Mike Mullen will inspire and inform people of good conscience:

Mr. Chairman, speaking for myself and myself only, it is my personal
belief that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly would be the
right thing to do. No matter how I look at the issue, I cannot escape
being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces
young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their
fellow citizens. For me, personally, it comes down to integrity --
theirs as individuals and ours as an institution. I also believe that
the great young men and women of our military can and would accommodate
such a change. I never underestimate their ability to adapt.

Janiece, I too share your worry about our evangelical christian brothers in arms, and not just the ones that wear the cross on one of their collar points. Regulations at least prohibit them from practicing religious discrimination (even though there are plenty that ignore them, feeling that their faith calling is a higher one). The ones that worry me more are the unit commanders, Department heads, Division officers and Senior enlisted that feel it's ok to pressure their troops with a religious agenda.

Matt, that worries me, too. While I strongly believe religious services should be available to service members, NO ONE should have to pass some sort of arbitrary religious litmus test in order to be considered a good sailor.

My FB post:One of my favorite days - guys at work who are talking about repeal of DADT - and they have never been in the military. Never.Near as I can tell they spent a majority of their LIVES strung out and barely being able to function, and they are going to criticize someone who will give a substantial chunk of their lives to protecting and defending? I work with some real shitbags.

Not to be a glass-is-half-empty kinda guy, but it was pointed out on ABC News last night that in spite of repealing DADT, the military won't be extending spousal benefits (health insurance, access to married quarters, etc.) to same sex partners who are legally married or have state recognized civil unions.

When I'm elected the ruler of the universe (which will happen some day, as billions will suddenly realize I am so much smarter and cuter than the current leaders) I will give each member of the armed forces (who put their lives on the line to protect and serve others, all others, without any moral judgement with regards to their worthiness):- lifetime free tuition - lifetime free mortgage- lifetime free Merry Maids housecleaning services- lifetime free supply of Ben and Jerry's- lifetime free health insurance- lifetime free movie tickets- lifetime free breakfasts at Denny's- lifetime special parking at events, any event- AND lifetime free legal representation to sue the pants off anyone who tramples on ANY part of their civil rights.Who's with me?

I don't want to be the emperor, just the ruler, as in the thing that you measure things with (no that's not true). I look forward to meeting this Jim fella, who I'm sure is quite lovely, but will still need to persuade me that he is cuter than me.

Matt: when that time comes, I'm sure we will all be voting telepathically.

About Me

I am a Hot Chick living in Castle Rock, CO with my fabulous family. We have a rescue dog named "Jackson," and she's a Basenji/Shepherd mix. She's something of a head case, but we love her. I'm a U.S. Navy vet, and I currently work as an Enterprise Solutions Architect, specializing in VoIP and multimedia contact center design. I'm a Trustee for my local library, because LIBRARIES. I care about science, the U.S. Constitution and the military. I'm a tax and spend liberal in a largely red county, but I try not to be stabby about it. I like to color, I aspire to run faster than I do, and I donate knitted cold weather gear to various charities. Stupidity, cupidity and wanton assholery piss me off, and I'm more than a little soft when it comes to dogs and those who serve others. I blog about whatever I feel like. I use foul language, so if that sort of thing offends you, feel free to fuck off now - if I'm unwilling to clean up my language for my fabulous Great Auntie Margie, I'm unlikely to do so for you. Newcomers are welcome here, especially those who disagree with me, but trolling and spamming will be met with the Shovel of Doom™.